W5: "The Secret Door in My School Leads to..."

Wong Pui Xun, 2301502

    Today was just like any other normal school day -- come to school, go to classes, and study. However, as I was putting away my things in my locker, I saw this odd looking lock at the back of the locker. The lock seemed like it was locking the back piece to the side of the locker. "So, does that mean I can open that?" I thought to myself. 

 

    I looked at the lock and tried to figure out a way to unlock it without catching too much attention from the others in school. With that thought, I used my phone to searched online on ways to pick a lock. After I found a tutorial on that, I quickly put it to action. To my surprise, it succeeded pretty easily. As I pulled the piece from the back of the locker and looked inside, all I saw was nothing — nothing but emptiness. 

    It was as if I was in space, or the black hole. Maybe there's something else at the other side? In the end, curiosity took over my mind, I proceeded to enter the space. As I stepped foot into the space, I felt a sense of weightlessness until a white light shined directly at my face. 

    I woke up to a voice trying to wake me up. As I opened my eyes, all I saw was tall buildings surrounding me and the young man that woke me up. 

    "Miss! Miss!" the young man said, panicking. "Oh my goodness, you're finally awake. Are you okay?"

    "Huh? Where am I?" I replied, extremely confused. "Who are you?

    

Joshua, a member of K-pop group, SEVENTEEN

    "I'm Joshua," the young gentleman replied. "I saw you on the ground and thought you fainted, are you okay now?"

    "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm Evelyn by the way." I replied Joshua, while thinking about the door just now. 

    "Do you need me to call your family, or your friends?" Joshua asked me. But I knew for a fact that I don't belong here. 

    "No, it's fine." I replied. I told Joshua about how I wasn't from here and that I was here because I entered the portal behind my locker. 

    He barely reacted to what I told him, probably still processing what I said just now. I have no idea whether he believed me or thought I was just telling stories.  However, I had to find a way to get back to where I belong as I knew that I did not have a place to stay, nor an identity to live in this world.

    "So do you know how to get back?" Joshua asked. 

    "No..." I answered his question. "Unless I found the door again, then maybe I could get back."

    "Alright, we'll figure this out later, you need to rest. You can stay here for as long as you want. If you need anything, just tell me." He said as he nodded softly, bringing me back to his place. 

    I sat on the couch, pacing out, trying to figure out how I could go back. If I could find the portal again, would I be able to go back? But how? Am I trapped here forever if I couldn't find the portal again? 

    While I was lost in my thoughts, Joshua sat beside me and told me something — something I wouldn't think its true. 

    "Well, I actually know how you can go back," he said mysteriously. "You have to do as I said."

    "What do you mean?" I questioned him. 

    "Take this," he said as he handed me a shiny crystal stone. "This is the key to the portal, you have to feed it with your blood. Until the blood moon arrives, then the portal would open again."

    "Wait, how do you know?" I asked while holding the crystal. "And what do you mean feed it with my blood?"

    "I created this portal," he sighed. "I was an outsider like you as well, but I'm stuck here, forever." 

    He began telling me about how he created the portal. Turns out that throughout the years, this isn't the first time someone had entered the city. As for Joshua himself, he made his attempt on escaping the world but failed. 

    "The longer you stay, the harder it would be for you to get back...like me." he sighed, while shaking his head. In the meantime, he handed me a knife, signaling me on feeding the stone. "It is impossible for me to go back now. Do it now before its too late."

    I nodded, took the knife from his hand, and pricked my finger. The blood came out of the wound as I dripped a few droplets on the stone. The stone absorbed my blood almost immediately after the droplets landed on the stone. I gasped and looked at Joshua, he did not react to what he saw but just nodded softly. 

    "Do this until the blood moon appears," he said. "it should be around a month from now."

    It has already been a month ever since I started feeding blood to the stone everyday, still waiting for the blood moon. 

    "The blood moon is today," said Joshua. "Get ready, we'll go out later."

    "What about you?" I asked. "Aren't you gonna go with me?"

    "I can't escape already," he sighed, feeling disappointed. "I've tried many time already. Only you have the chance now."

    "But-" I said. 

    "Alright now," Joshua interrupted me. "Let's go before it's too late."

    I followed Joshua to an empty field. He took the stone from me and placed it on the ground. The stone was different from the first time I got it. It was glowing brightly especially in the dark night. 

    Both Joshua and I waited until midnight. Everything seemed normal at first just like any other night time with the moonlight shining at us. But soon after, everything turned red. It was the blood moon. 

    As the blood moon appears, the stone began glowing brighter and brighter, until a red door appeared right in front of our eyes. It was the portal! 

    I held Joshua's hands tightly and quickly ran towards the door. But as we were about to reach the door, Joshua lets go of my hand. 

    "What are you doing?" I shouted. "Just go with me now!" 

    "I can't, Evelyn," he replied. "If the city finds out, it will trap you as well. Then you won't be able to leave like me."

    "No..." I begged Joshua, trying to convince him to follow. "Then what about you?"

    "I'm perfectly fine right here." Joshua said, pushing me closer towards the door. "Go now Evelyn! Go and never come back!" 

    Joshua pushed me into the portal. The same sense of weightlessness and white light followed upon me as I woke up again. But this time, I was lying on the desk in my class. 

    It all felt like a dream after all — the stone, the blood moon, the red door, and Joshua. But everything felt extremely real to me. After class, I rushed to my locker just to see that it was completely normal, no locks, no portal, just like any other lockers. 

    "Hey! What's wrong?" my friend, Jenna, tapped on my shoulders. "You seem odd today, are you alright?" 

    "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, contemplating on whether I should tell Jenna about the portal thing. "I'm just a bit tired, I'll just go and rest first." 

    "Oh! Okay, take care." she replied and waved goodbye to me. "Bye!"

Maybe I should just keep this as a secret — a secret no one should know. 

Reference

Locker. (n.d.). IStock Photo.  https://media.istockphoto.com/id/157317638/photo/row-of-tall-white-lockers-in-a-white-corridor.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=XjRz9giE-MdnmW-UhHN8WSaCyYrxZGHelyHKA4SQ2s0=

Pinterest. (n.d.). https://i.pinimg.com/736x/75/42/c9/7542c977326973f3157c87e3ddfc20d9.jpg